


a light upon the water

by estir



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Gen, Manga Spoilers, Mild Hurt/Comfort, floating lantern festival, for kamiki’s level 4 backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 01:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18216626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estir/pseuds/estir
Summary: “Don’t drop your lantern!” she says as she shifts to place one hand on her hip. “There’s no point in coming all the way down here if your lantern breaks.”Shiemi flashes one of her bright smiles at Izumo in return. “I’ll be careful. This is for Granny, after all!”or: Izumo and Shiemi take a small detour during the summer festival to heal.





	a light upon the water

Izumo adjusts her step down the dirt path. Trees tower overhead as they approach the embankment, swaying like pendulums on a string against the dark night sky. Their rustling applause and their crescendoing whispers drown out the shouts of chatter from the rest of the festival, but they are no match for the steady babble of the quiet river. There’s too much smoke and smog and cloud-cover and light seeping into the surroundings to make out any stars or constellations, but their perceived absence makes the crescent moon shine all the brighter against man’s hubris.

Her sandals slip on a few loose pebbles, and she uses the momentum to skip down the last few steps. The paper lantern is bulky in her sweaty grip. The smell of smoke lingers in her nose as she breathes deeply and regains her balance with practiced ease. She can do this. The symbolism in this  _ toro nagashi _ , this lantern floating part of the festival, won’t make her stumble. This is an exercise in acceptance; this is all just so she can trick her subconscious into finally letting go of, well,  _ everything _ .

Behind her, Shiemi stumbles onto the patch of grass with a shout. That bright summer kimono nearly trips her into the water, but she’s able to recover her footing after a rambunctious dance and twirl. Izumo rolls her eyes on instinct, but she can’t deny how the clumsiness leaves her slightly warmer.

“Don’t drop your lantern!” she says as she shifts to place one hand on her hip. “There’s no point in coming all the way down here if your lantern breaks.”

Shiemi flashes one of her bright smiles at Izumo in return. “I’ll be careful. This is for Granny, after all!”

It’s then that Izumo notices the fireflies floating near the water’s edge. They draw her gaze away from Shiemi’s heat-flushed face effortlessly. She’s never seen so many all at once, their tiny specks of light ghosting in and out of sight like sparks of magic. The two of them are suddenly surrounded by pockets of tiny yellow stars that blink out of existence when their gazes linger on them for too long.

“They’re so beautiful!” Shiemi exclaims, and the wonder in her tone makes Izumo’s hand fall from her hip to rest comfortably at her side. “I wonder if there are some  _ thunbergii _ close by. Fireflies tend to congregate around pine...”

Izumo blinks away from watching Shiemi, not entirely sure why she had paused at the sight of her friend reaching out for the fleeting specks of light. With another deep inhale and a pounding heartbeat, she turns resolutely toward the water’s edge and kneels on the tall grass.

She knows how this ritual works. She should light the lantern with a match, first. Then, she needs to hold it still in the water. 

She needs to reflect.  She needs to meditate. She needs to pray.

The light grows in strength and significance as she feeds the flames with love and regret for the soul she begs to reach. Her heart swells as she concentrates on her worst nightmares, on her harshest resentments. She exhales them at length over the lantern, lets the memories of abandonment and fear drain from the cavern they have burrowed into deep within her gut. Her mother’s smile— her last smile— surrounded by bandages and blood and grime, is a gentle press on her bowed head. The memory fills the emptiness left behind in her soul.

It’ll take more time to be truly rid of these nightmares, Izumo knows, but at least this is a start. This is what her mother would have wanted, after everything was said and done. Shedraws a muggy breath with that thought ringing through her head, sets her gaze upon the water, and lets her lantern go. The small light glides along the river precariously, nodding up and down with the current, but it remains afloat. A few fireflies follow its gentle path as curious little sparks in the night. And for the first time in months, maybe even ever, Izumo feels a little more at peace.

Until her thoughts are interrupted by a familiar gasp of surprise, and she turns toward Shiemi just in time to see her trip, almost in slow motion, into the water.

The abrupt fall disrupts the lazy drift of fireflies. They scatter with the droplets of water, hiding away as Shiemi thrashes around in the confines of her kimono, trying to sit upright against the soft muck of the riverbed. When she finally rights herself, dripping and covered in spots of mud, she groans loudly in discomfort.

Her lantern floats along down the river, trailing after Izumo’s, nearly unaffected.

Izumo can’t help it; she laughs.

Her arms reach out for a pouting Shiemi, but her lungs and stomach and lips won’t stop. She laughs and smiles until tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, until it hurts to stand upright any longer. She pulls Shiemi back up on dry land just to collapse in a fit of giggles alongside her.

“Come on, dummy,” she laughs, breathless. “Let’s go get you dried off.”

“Ah! But!” Shiemi gasps, even as Izumo turns to climb back up the embankment, “What about your lantern? Were you able to send it off properly? I can wait, if you need more time…!”

Izumo just smiles back, extending her hand once more.

“It’s fine. I was able to send my lantern off properly, unlike a certain klutz. I wouldn’t mind some cider when we get back to the festival, though.”

Shiemi’s worry melts into that trademark grin right before Izumo’s eyes. 

“Leave it to me!” she shouts as she takes Izumo’s hand, refusing to let go until they’re back amongst the festivities.

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for _Seasonally Blue_ , a free PDF fanzine. You can find more information here, as well as the gdrive link to view the whole zine. Thank you to mod K for this wonderful opportunity!


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